Valentine's Day

During D.C.'s "historic" snowstorm this week, I read, among many things, a funny (and informative) article on "How to Date a Lawyer." Since the overwhelming number of lawyers in D.C. is only rivaled by its number of young nonprofit professionals and idealists and since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I thought it might be helpful to make a little how-to guide of my own. Let's face it, lawyers might be a popular choice, but if you're really looking for someone you can write home about, you're probably in the market for a social-web savvy, cause-oriented team player. So, I give you: how to date a social citizen, in seven easy steps. 

1. Get out there and volunteer. There are tons of volunteer opportunities available through serve.gov, where you are sure to meet social citizens who are impressed with your commitment to serving the community and your mural painting prowess. Some organizations, like One Brick, even combine service with social interactions where you can mix and mingle with fellow volunteers, or you can always demonstrate your leadership skills by organizing an impromptu happy hour following an afternoon of service.
    
2. Dress the part. You are sure to catch the eye of a social citizen in TOMS shoes, Yellow Bird Project t-shirts and, when there's no time for subtlety, a StillerStrong headband.
    
3. Learn the lingo. Keep up with social citizen-friendly blogs and be prepared to drop key phrases into conversation. Beth's Blog, the HuffPo Impact vertical, Change.org, and Philanthropy 2173 are good places to start. Using phrases like "high impact," "crowd-sourcing," and "triple bottom line" and generally adding "social" to most nouns will be music to a social citizen's ears.
    
4. Keep all your social media profiles updated with your favorite causes. When your social citizen sees that you've started a cause to raise money for your favorite nonprofit, added a twibbon to your avatar, and voted for a worthy nonprofit in the latest online grant competition, they'll be wrapped around your little finger.
    
5. Give gifts that give back. When your relationship reaches a gift-giving level, score extra points by giving your social citizen something that also benefits her favorite cause. If you need something stat, the Case Foundation's Megan Stohner recently compiled a list of Valentine's Day charitable gift ideas.
    
6. Be connected. Respond promptly to facebook messages and wall posts, DMs and @replies, blog comments, texts, and all forms of Google communication, including but not limited to, chats, emails, reader comments, buzzes, and waves. (Notice that I did not include Facebook pokes. You are not obligated to employ or respond to pokes, as they are ambiguous and uncomfortable.) Using your smart phone to show you can stay in touch on the go will impress and delight your social citizen.
    
7. Be transparent. Even if this goes against your dating instincts at first, demonstrating transparency is a sure-fire way to show your social citizen love interest that you're worth his or her time. Showing that you value the unique blend of your personal and professional lives and that you resist the urge to be a different person at home or at work will make every social citizen feel at ease.

 There you have it. Happy Valentine's Day and good luck!

And the results are in - AT&T is calling Valentine's Day one the hottest texting days of the year, claiming 61 percent of adult cell phone owners surveyed plan to send a text message to their significant other this February 14. More than half of those surveyed, said they believe receiving a Valentine's Day text to mean the same or more than receiving a card.

And AT&T isn't the only one on to this trend.  Last night I came across a study released by the British National Trust, a charitable organization in charge of preserving and displaying some of the most famous love letters in our history. Over 2,500 adults took part, and while the majority would prefer to receive the old fashioned love letters and poems, the survey reveals that very few actually go through the trouble of penning them, choosing instead to type a simple “I luv U” text message. 

But texting isn’t the only way social citizens are spreading the love this Valentine’s Day. After all, it’s a desperate time for so many and we all feel a level of uncertainty that was not as apparent just a year ago. I put a call out on Twitter and Facebook asking friends and colleagues to share some of the ways they are planning to spread the love for “social good” this February 14, and you can find some of them below.  I also want to give a nod to the list of Valentine's that Give Back on Britt Bravo's Have Fun Do Good Blog, and my colleague Stephanie Hackman our resident  fashionista at the Case Foundation who reminds us why she "Heart's" Valentine's Day, and you should too.

• Honor your loved one with a life-changing gift. The Grameen Foundation is encouraging individuals to make a tribute to a loved one and bring a square to life by pledging $10 to help Stop Poverty Now.

• The folks at Global Voices think Valentine's Day is a day of love, friendship and communication. So, what better way to mark the occasion than to teach someone you love to blog or micro-blog?

• It's amazing but true: $5 can provide clean water for a person for 20 years. You can really make a difference this Valentine's Day and beyond, says Angel Mission via their viral video campaign that was spreading across facebook this past week.

• At MicroPlace a $20 donation in honor of your valentine gets you a box of fair trade milk chocolate from Ghana and a good feeling that your investment will make a difference in the life of a hard-working poor person.

• Wondering how to green your valentine’s day? The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. has plenty of tips and tricks to cut down on your environmental impact this February 14 with some green gift ideas.

*And yes, all of the text talk, reminded me of the picture our photographer’s captured as my husband and I were feverishly typing away on our blackberry’s on our wedding day last March. Only further revealing the mild addiction we are “working through.” I don’t think we were actually texting each other, but I wouldn’t put it past us… Happy Valentine’s Day!